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HOW TO MAKE 
PERFECT COFFEE 



By W. S. QUINBY 



PUBLISHED BY THE W. S. QUINBY COMPANY 
OF BOSTON AND CHICAGO - IMPORTERS 
AND ROASTERS OF LA TOURAINE COFFEE 




' ^S^a'^<yJi(^rk. 



Copyright, 1922 

W. S. Quinby Company 

Boston 

C-1 



MAR 30 1822 



^ 






C1AB73167 



HOW TO MAKE 
PERFECT COFFEE 

By W. S. Quinby 

THERE is only one test you apply to the coffee you 
serve in your restaurant. 

Do the people like it? Do they go away saying, "That 
was a delicious cup of coffee"? 

Coffee is, after all, a very important part of a good meal. 
If the coffee is not good, patrons will get the feeling that 
something was wrong, something not quite up to standard. 

On the other hand when the coffee is supremely good, it 
will impress itself strongly and bring patrons back to you, 
smiling in anticipation of a real treat. 

' We have all had the coffee crank say to us at some time 
or other, "Let's go around to Blank's for lunch. Did you 
ever try the coffee there? It's fine!" 

The test of your coffee is whether you send coffee lovers 
away with a grin or a grouch. And the secret of good coffee 
is all in one word — flavor. 



FLAVOR 

FOR people who do not know coffee, the perfect flavor 
— the rich, real coffee flavor — is a hard thing to capture. 
But once you understand the nature of coffee, and get 
the right coffee — it becomes simple. Flavor depends on 
these two things. 

The first thing you must have is quality in your coffee. 
It is not necessary to pay an extravagant price— but your 
coffee should be the product of experts. It should be 
selected from the finest types and kinds, and blended with 
a skill that brings out the genuine essence of each kind of 
coffee that goes into it. Then the blend must be roasted 
as carefully as the noted chef will prepare a sauce or a 
pudding. Modern coffee production has standardized the 
processes of the coffee factory, but quality itself is never 
standardized. Quality depends on men — and every coffee 
roaster will have a different standard. 

The second thing of utmost importance to serving de- 
licious coffee is the preparation. 

There was an old Chinese philosopher who declared that, 
next to the spoiling of fine children by false education, 
the worst practice he knew was "the spoiling of fine tea 
by false manipulation." To the Chinese, tea was a national 
institution. With us, coffee is a national institution, and 
the poor treatment our old friend coffee so often receives 
is really a shame. 

Coffee making, in spite of its importance, is one of the 
things most neglected in every kitchen. The reaspa-'lTiay 
be the very simplicity of making good coffee^Jhtany case 
it is a responsibility that is often left--tt5any ordinary 



helper who is without intelhgent training, and the result 
drives the true coffee lover to despair. 

The brewing of your coffee almost ranks of first impor- 
tance, because the finest coffee in the world will show an 
undesirable side if it^ is improperly brewed. 

I / 

THE PRINCIPLES OF COFFEE MAKING 

THE fundamental necessary to making good coffee is to 
know the physical nature of coffee, and the action of 
coffee properties in contact with hot water. So you should 
not have coffee made by an employee who is ignorant of 
the properties of the coffee bean. 

Starting out some twenty years ago in the coffee and tea 
business, the writer was imbued with the idea of quality — 
of producing a blend of coffee that could not be, improved 
upon. But he has found that it is not enough for the im- 
porter and roaster to rigidly uphold the standard of his 
product. The true coffee merchant must go farther and 
give time and knowledge to helping the restaurant and 
hotel man to an understanding of the principles of coffee 
making. 

The purpose of this booklet is to disseminate these 
principles in a form which can be quickly grasped by the 
coffee maker as well as those who direct him. It is the 
story of one man's experiences with the handling of coffee 
in many hundreds of restaurants and hotel kitchens. 



THE DOUBLE NATURE OF COFFEE 

MANY good things we enjoy have to be carefully sep- 
arated from the undesirable elements which nature 
mingles with them in the raw state. Coffee is one of these. 

Coffee on the tree is a small red fruit, not unlike a cherry 
in appearance. Before the green bean reaches us there are 
several preparatory processes: the removal of the outer 
pulp, then of the inner shell and "silver skin "; the separat- 
ing, washing and drying of the beans. Even after the hard, 
dry beans are roasted and cleaned, coffee is not yet reduced 
to the delicious essence which tastes so good in the cup. 
From this time on, however, the responsibility for securing 
the right flavor passes from the roaster to the coffee maker. 

Now, all roasted coffee contains two elements. One of 
these elements produces the good, savory coffee taste 
which for centuries has been the delight of mankind. This 
is the element which we desire to extract in the greatest 
abundance. It is "flavor." i; . 

But coffee also contains another element — "bitterness." 
Many people think that we. would get the perfect cup of 
coffee if we could extract the flavor in such a way that no 
bitterness at all would come with it. This is a mistake. A 
very small proportion of bitterness is not only unavoidable, 
but adds a certain essential quality to the taste. However, 
if too much bitterness gets in, it will make the drink un- 
palatable. 

The following table shows the difference in actual 
"flavor" and "bitterness" content, when the coffee is 
made properly and when the job is done carelessly. 

6 



PROPERLY MADE 

Flavor, per cup 2.22 grains 

Bitterness, per cup .29 grains 

IMPROPERLY MADE 

Flavor, per cup 1.75 grains 

Bitterness, per cup 2.35 grains 

The ideal cup of coffee, as shown above, should contain 
the smallest possible suggestion of bitterness, with all the 
flavor that can be extracted. By observing the proper 
care, we can get about the right proportion of both every 
time. 

The nature of flavor and bitterness themselves help us to 
do this. Flavor is a lively element, quickly affected by 
boiling water, but never responsive to cool water. Bitter- 
ness, on the other hand, while slower to act, is compara- 
tively indifferent to the temperature of the water. It will 
respond either to hot or cold water. 

So if we should put ground coffee into luke-warm water, 
hardly any flavor would be extracted, but the analysis 
would show the presence of a large proportion of bitterness. 
Also if we should put ground coffee into boiling water, and 
leave it there too long^ both the bitterness and the flavor 
would come out, but the bitterness in such quantities that 
it would completely overcome all good flavor. 

There is obviously a middle ground, a way to get all the 
flavor and very little of the bitterness. And this, of 
course — bearing in mind the action of both — is to bring 
ground coffee in contact with boiling water, and thus ex- 



/ 



tract the flavor, but not to leave them in contact long 
enough for too much bitterness to be extracted. And by 
"boiling water" I mean water that is actually bubbling at 
a gallop; that is 212 degrees hot. When water is only steam- 
ing it is not boiling. Water will always steam when warmer 
than the air. 

In this way has been worked out the principle o( pour- 
ing boiling water over the coffee, instead of boiling the 
coffee in the water. The pouring process is what is called 
filtration or "leaching" coffee, and is by far the best of 
any known ways to make it. Pour boiling water through 
the coffee? Why, that seems simple enough! Why are you 
making all this to-do about a small matter like that? Any- 
body can make good coffee if that is all there is to it! 

Yes, it is simple. Anybody can do it. Then why is it 
that so large a percentage of our coffee is ruined in the 
making? It has long been a matter of wonder why it should 
be so hard to persuade coffee makers to follow the few 
simple rules that are necessary to brewing good coffee. 

Human nature is a curious thing. It sometimes seems 
that by telling people how to do it wrong we would get 
better results. You have heard of the department store 
owner who had many exits to his store, but just one par- 
ticular door through which he requested the ladies not to 
pass. Invariably they would go out that door. Then a 
happy thought struck him. He had a big sign painted over 
the door with the word "EXIT" upon it. Ahtr that he had 
no trouble. The shoppers didn't want to go out that way 
any more. 

I am going to tell a few of my experiences with coffee 



makers later on. But first let us establish the proper way 
to make coffee. 



ACCURACY AND CARE ESSENTIAL 

AT the bottom of any system of coffee making the 
c first requirement is accuracy. Leave nothing to guess- 
work or chance. Carefully measure your coffee and water 
each time the coffee is made; follow the same directions 
day after day, and at frequent intervals check up your 
weights and measures, inspect your urns, leach bags and 
other utensils, and thereby avoid the numberless accidents 
which produce poor coffee. 

THE LEACHING METHOD 

THE standard leaching urn with a close mesh bag is the 
best to use. This method, by chemical test, shows the 
nearest perfect solution of coffee of any known way. In 
fact, properly leached coffee is almost bitter-free. Pres- 
sure urns and other patented methods have never yet pro- 
duced results that can equal the ordinary leaching urn. 
As a rule other devices extract too much bitterness in- 
stead of the perfect balance of coffee properties. Methods 
of making coffee advertised to get strength with the use of 
a smaller quantity of coffee result in an excess of bitterness 
and lack of flavor. All experience proves that a gallon of 
water cannot be turned into properly flavored coffee with 
less than eight ounces of dry coffee. No method can possibly 
bring out more because it is not there to be had. 



With the standard leaching urn use a fine ground coffee. 
Some advocate pulverized coffee, but our experience has 
shown that pulverized coffee, used in large quantities or 
during rush hours, is inclined to pack and mat and become 
unmanageable. Moreover, extreme fineness is no assurance 
of the best results. As a matter of fact, coarse ground coffee 
gives us the more flavory drinking quality, but requires 
the use of so much coffee per gallon that it becomes too 
expensive for practical use. 

RULES FOR MAKING COFFEE 

AMOUNT OF COFFEE TO USE 

For Hotels — Use in proportion of ten to twelve ounces 
per gallon for breakfast and luncheon, according to the 
strength desired; and for after dinner, fourteen to sixteen 
ounces per gallon. 

For Restaurants — Use in proportion of eight to nine 
ounces per gallon, except when making one or two gallons 
at one making, when at least ten ounces per gallon should 
be used. 

ORDER OF PROCEDURE 

I. See that you have at hand correct amount of cor- 
rectly weighed dry coffee. 
1. Note grind of coffee. 

3. See that you have a plentiful supply oi fresh boiling 
water in hot water urn. 

4. See that the gauge shows plenty of water in jacket 
of coffee urn and that it is at top temperature — i.e., 
practically boiling. 

10 



5- Look in coffee urn to see that it is in proper condition. 

6. See that leaching bag is sweet, then put in urn. 

7. Put correct amount dry coffee in leaching bag. 

8. Note that water in the hot water urn is boiling — not 
only blowing off furiously, but that the water in 

' gauge is moving up and down. 

9. Heat hot water measure by rinsing with hot water. 

10. Rapidly as possible draw correct number of meas- 
ures of water and put through coffee, keepingVm 
cover down between measures of water and being 
careful not to pour water on fast enough to over- 
run top of bag in urn. If it overflows stop it by 
stirring with a spoon, never with cold water. 

11. At once repour coffee, making sure measure is hot 
before drawing coffee into it. Repour entire mak- 
ing — i.e., if water is five gallons repour five gallons. 

12. Rest five to ten minutes. 

13. Repour at least 50% of the make. 

1 4. Let ripen five to ten minutes. 

15. Serve. 

16. Remove the leach bag and coffee grounds fifteen to 
twenty minutes after coffee has been finished. 

WATER 

Too much importance cannot be placed upon the kind of 
water used in making coffee. The following directions are 
vital and should be adhered to: 

Use fresh water. Boil hard and use at once. 
Don't use water out of jacket or from under urn. 
Don't use water out of the hot water system. 



Water becomes dead or stale even in a tight hot-water 
urn, and must be kept fresh by drawing all the water out 
of the urn every night. 

THE LEACH BAG 

The leach bag must be of standard shape. If it runs to 
a peak the water will go out the sides instead of through 
the dry coffee. 

The leach bag must be kept clean and sweet. Rinse in 
clean, cold water and never in warm or hot water. Keep it 
in cold, sweet water. Muddy or cloudy coffee is caused by 
the grounds getting into the coffee either by bubbling over 
the top of the bag and working under the ring, or because 
the mesh of the bag is too coarse. A fine mesh bag will pre- 
vent fine coffee grounds going through, but a double bag 
is better, if very clear coffee is desired. If the coffee starts 
to bubble over the top, stir quickly with a big spoon and 
let the air out. Never use cold water to stop it. 

Remove the leach bag and coffee grounds fifteen minutes 
after the coffee is fully finished. 

CARE OF URNS 

New urns must be well boiled out with coffee before us- 
ing, to eliminate the taste of lead from the joints. Keep 
the urn clean, including the faucets, which gather grease 
fast. Scald and scour thoroughly once each day. Positively 
do not allow water in the jacket to leak into the urn. Look 
into the urn each day before making coffee, to see that no 
water has leaked in over night. 

Keep the water in the jacket of the urn at all times near the 
boiling point. No coffee will hold its flavor ten minutes if 



allowed to get cool, and all coffee is ruined if allowed to 
cool and then warmed up. 

The urn and all utensils must be hot from start to finish. 
Urns with siphon attachments should be tested by gallon 
measure often; better still, measure all water with gallon 
measure. Siphon urns are, in fact, unreliable, because 
water will siphon at as low as 190 degrees, which is 11 
degrees less than boiling point. 

CREAM 

The following per cent fat is recommended in your 
cream : 

18 to 20 per cent cream for coffee made eight ounces to a 
gallon. 

11 to 25 per cent cream for coffee made nine to ten 
ounces. 

30 per cent cream for coffee made twelve ounces and up. 

Fresh cream is necessary — not just sweet, but fresh. 
You will be surprised to note how differently coffee will 
show when served with very fresh cream or when cream is 
nearly sour or chilled. 

Have your cream tested for fat occasionally. 

SOME PERSONAL EXPERIENCES 

MANY and varied have been the vicissitudes of the 
writer during a fifth of a century's activity trying to 
persuade coffee makers to stick to the rules. There are all 
sorts of haphazard methods and make-shift ways that one 
encounters. For example, in the matter of measurements, 
you will find the man or woman who uses "a cup of coffee 
to a pitcher of water." Sometimes when you ask how much 

13 



coffee and water they are using they will tell you that they 
do not know; but this sort of blunt honesty is rare. i\s a 
general rule the coffee maker insists that he has the right 
measurements, and only by making him go through the 
motions do you find out just where he has gone wrong. 

MISTAKES OF MEASUREMENT 

I REMEMBER one case in the restaurant of one of our 
customers. I watched the coffee maker prepare a four- 
gallon quantity. He did the work well, measured every- 
thing properly, and when the coffee was finished it looked 
perfect. Then he drew a half gallon of water and turned it 
into the coffee. 

"Why did you do that?" I asked. 

"The coffee looked too strong to me," he replied. 

Of course the result was a cup of coffee decidedly below 
the standard, and this illustrates how the personal whims 
and fancies of the coffee maker often result disastrously to 
the coffee. Many old-fashioned customs that are wholly 
erroneous are followed. For example, in one case I found 
the coffee maker putting salt into the dry coffee because 
his folks at home used to do it! Naturally the flavor was 
changed and not a true coffee flavor. 

Then there was the case of the woman who, I found, was 
breaking eggs, yolks and all, into the dry coffee and mixing 
them together. When she put this mixture into the bag 
and poured on the boiling water you can imagine the 
sticky mass which resulted. The water could neither get 
through the caked-up bag nor reach the albumen-covered 
coffee. Why did she do it? Oh, because she had heard 
somewhere that it improved coffee to put eggs in it!* 

H 

* Eggs are of value only to help clarify. 



To return to the matter of measurements, I must tell of 
one more case, because it is typical. Only recently in one of 
our fine restaurants I noticed that the coffee was not satis- 
factory, and had no particular snap. I called the proprie- 
tor's attention to it. 

"Well," he asked, "what do you think is the trouble?" 

I told him that, without looking into it, the flavor to me 
was that of coffee made with too little dry coffee for a gal- 
lon of water, but there might be other causes which would 
produce such a flavor. Before leaving I said: 

"Won't you see that your boys are sticking to the 
schedule of weights?" 

A day or two later I dropped in again. The coffee was 
still the same. The proprietor told me he had talked to 
the man. 

"He is following weights," he continued, "and the boys 
are making coffee exactly according to the rules. It must 
be the coffee that is at fault. I am not satisfied myself, and 
was just going to send for you." 

"Let's go down and see what the boys are doing," I 
suggested. He led the way to the storeroom and we ques- 
tioned the man who had charge of weighing the coffee. 

"Are you sure your weights are right?" I asked. 

"Of course," he replied. "I'll show you." 

This is the usual answer. Naturally employees do not 
readily admit that they are at fault. However, he picked 
up a can in which he had the right amount, put it on the 
scale, and put the weight opposite it with perfect confi- 
dence. The proprietor turned to me with one of those "I- 
told-you-so" glances. I asked: 

15 



"Do you put that can into the urn with the coffee?" 

Then they both tumbled to the fact that the man had 
been including the weight of the can as though it were 
coffee. No further explanation was needed for the poor 
quality of the coffee. 

Sometimes we get the wrong proportions of water and 
coiTee through some cause that is hard to detect. I remem- 
ber one day a hotel man said to me: 

"Your last lot of coffee is not as good as usual, and I am 
going to send it back." 

After asking several questions I learned that the coffee 
became weak after standing for a while in the urn. We 
went to the urns, drew off some coffee, and watched it for a 
moment. Then I saw the water slowly rising in the bottom 
of the coffee jar and the trouble was apparent. The urn 
had been allowed to dry and the heat had burned the 
leather washer which connects the inner jar with the outer 
water jacket. The water was leaking in. Only one thing 
can cause liquid coffee to weaken by standing, and that is 
added water. 

THE QUESTION OF WATER 

NEXT to careless measurements it is the temperature 
of the water that causes most trouble. There are 
three principal errors that the men make. 

One is using stale water — water that has boiled too long. 
Another is taking hot water from the hot water pipes. 
Both of these practices will result in poor coffee. Water 
should be freshly boiled. 

But the most typical error is the use of water that is not 

16 



hot enough^ that is not boiling. Here is one instance that 
is very common: 

A little while ago I visited a lunch room and found the 
coffee absolutely bad. I was surprised, because this lunch 
room had been in the habit of turning out particularly fine 
coffee. I called the manager's attention to it, and he 
admitted that it was far from being as good as usual. He 
asked me what I thought was the matter. 

"Cold water," I replied. 

"No," he said. "The water is boiling. Look at it steam." 

He stepped up to the man who made the coffee. 

"John," he asked, "was that water boiling when you 
made the coffee?" 

"Yes, sir," said John, promptly. Did John ever say 
"no" under such circumstances? 

I happened to have a thermometer with me, and on be- 
ing tested the water proved to be less than 170 degrees. 
Water boils at 212 degrees. Then I illustrated the fact that 
water will steam whenever it is of higher temperature than 
the air. 

While we are on this question of boiling water, let me 
point out the necessity of keeping all utensils hot. Boiling 
water will not stay hot enough, nor will hot, flavory coffee 
stay good if brought in contact with cold substances. 
Every article used — the water measure, the pot, the cups 
and saucers, should be made piping hot beforehand by 
scalding. The simplest trial will prove the importance of 
this. I was sitting at a hotel table a short while ago with 
the proprietor. The coffee had just been served. 

"This coffee is good!" he remarked. 

17 



"Yes, it is good," I agreed. Five minutes later I asked 
him to try the coffee again. He did so. 

"It is not so good, is it?" I asked. 

"No, it is not. It has lost flavor." 

"Well," I said, "there's a logical reason. This coflfee was 
drawn in a cold cup, and the cup cooled the coffee so fast 
that, as you see, the flavor has gotten away from it." 

MISTREATING THE LEACH BAG 

UNLESS the leach bag is handled properly it will cause 
ill-tasting coffee. Leach bags should be removed from 
the urn as soon as possible after the coffee is thoroughly 
made, or at least raised above the liquid coffee. 

Leaving the bag in gives a poor cup of coffee, because 
too much bitterness is extracted. Another important thing 
is to have the leach bag the proper length. Standard leach 
bags are best, and long leaches are wrong, because they 
soak in the coffee after making, and because they can- 
not be removed easily from the urn. Also, a long narrow 
leach bag allows the water to escape through the side in 
place of going through the coffee grounds. The restaurant 
man who wishes to make three gallons of coffee should have 
a five-gallon urn. By this arrangement the coffee maker 
has no trouble removing his leach bag promptly at the 
proper time; and you have the capacity if you want it. 

The cleansing of leach bags also demands special care. 
They should be cleansed in just one way — rinsed thor- 
oughly in cold water and placed in a pan of cold water 
where they will keep sweet until used again. Some res- 
taurant men are very careful to wash out the leach bags in 



boiling water, sometimes even adding a little lye to the 
water. Then they hang them up over the range to dry, 
where they catch all the wandering aromas in the air! 
This method is wrong. The boiling and drying process 
tends to set the grease, and to sour and rot the bag. 

A cloth leach bag is the only kind to use. Paper leaches 
are unreliable. One customer told us that our coffee was 
bitter, and explained that he had tried cutting down the 
quantity per gallon, but while it was not so bitter it was 
not good. On investigation I found that he had completely 
changed his process of making coffee by putting a paper 
leacher in place of the cloth one. What really happened 
was that by his new process the water had gone through 
the paper so slowly that it had extracted too large a per- 
centage of bitterness. 

CLEAN FAUCETS ESSENTIAL 

A GREASY faucet, like a greasy leach bag, will ruin 
the coffee. I was called out once to look into a case of 
bad tasting coffee. I examined the urn and found it per- 
fectly clean. The coffee was properly ground, and the 
cream, on being tested, was fresh and sweet. I had the 
regular coffee maker make the coffee, watching his meas- 
urements carefully. There was nothing wrong anywhere, 
apparently. At the proper time after making I tasted the 
coffee. It certainly had a peculiar flavor. Then I noticed, 
while he was drawing the cup, that the coffee came too 
slowly out of the faucet. I had the coffee drawn out and 
the faucets removed, and found that they were practically 
stopped up by a greasy sediment, which had probably long 

'9 



been gathering there. As soon as the faucets and pipe 
were cleaned the trouble was ended. 

CREAM MUST BE RIGHT 

THE importance of good cream cannot be over-esti- 
mated. Cream should not only be sweet, but really- 
fresh, or it will make a big difference in the flavor. Also, 
care should be taken to have the right amount of cream 
for the strength of the coffee you are making. A typical 
experience was one I had not long ago in a restaurant serv- 
ing one ounce of 20 per cent cream to a cup. It produced 
a dark cup of coffee, as there was not enough cream to 
color the coffee properly. The cream dispenser would drop 
only one ounce of cream and there was no way of adjusting 
it. With lyi ounces we found we had a fine cup of coffee, 
and I persuaded the restaurant man to order a new faucet 
which would drop an ounce- and a half. 

THE MILL MUST BE WATCHED 

ONE final word about grinding. I was one day called 
to Providence, R. I., in a hurry by an important 
customer, who stated our coffee was decidedly off. I 
reached Providence in time for the lunch hour, and 
watched the making of the coffee very carefully. Still the 
result was bad. I questioned the maker on all points. His 
answers were very satisfactory. I asked him for some of 
his dry coffee, and I found the grind at least two degrees 
too coarse. He persisted that his mill had not been shifted, 
but still it was turning out coarse coffee. Why did it do 



So important do we regard the La Touraine Formula, 
which embodies this ideal, that we guard it as a precious 
secret. Only a handful of men actually know what the 
secret of La Touraine goodness consists in. In general 
terms, however, it may be said to consist in three things 
rigidly adhered to: 

First: securing the finest types of certain special kinds 
of coffee from the very best crops the world produces. 

Second: combining these coffees to a carefully worked 
out blend which brings out the peculiar goodness of each 
kind. 

Third: roasting them to a certain degree to extract the 
full coffee richness, which produces the finest flavor of 
which the blend is capable. 

From the care implied here, it may be seen that for 
every process in the production of La Touraine, not only 
skilled men, but life-long coffee experts are required. 

SELECTION 

AS is well known, a more careful standard of coffee 
production has always prevailed among Boston 
roasters than in other cities of the country. The first com- 
panies engaged in the importation of coffee in Boston 
easily ranked highest in quality. To a great extent this 
has been because in other coffee centers the buyers were 
often satisfied to judge the coffee in the green bean en- 
tirely, and neglect the cup-testing process. 

The coffees that compose La Touraine are not only 
chosen with microscopic exactness, but rigidly undergo the 

23 



cup-test for actual drinking qualities, which cannot be 
determined merely from the appearance of the bean. 

We select the lots of coffee for their uniformity and den- 
sity. The last named quality is very important. It is the 
density and firmness of texture which give richness in 
drinking, and assure the flavor that lingers on the palate. 
It is also largely the density or weight of the raw coflfee 
which makes the cost vary. As in the case of hard woods, 
the firmer the fiber the higher the price. Cheap coffee is 
light and porous — or "punky." It can be instantly de- 
tected by weighing in the hand in comparison with an 
equal bulk of high-grade coffee. 



THE SECRET BLEND 

AFTER the selection and cup-testing of coffee comes 
^ the blending. 

While every process in the growth and preparation of 
coffee for the market is of great importance to the ultimate 
quality obtained, experts lay the greatest stress on blend- 
ing. It is in the factory laboratory, where the secret blend 
is daily watched and determined, that coffee production 
becomes truly a high art. 

The different kinds of coffee possess subtle differences 
in flavor and grade only noticeable to the trained eye and 
taste. A single type of coffee may produce a liquid of ex- 
ceptional body. Another may have a livelier flavor. Still 
another may have more aroma. 

Any one of these coffees when roasted and brewed will 
result in an excellent cup. But by putting them together 

24 



in the proper proportion we obtain a balanced mingling of 
their qualities which is far finer than any of them alone. 

In determining the standard of the several coffees which 
go into the blend, extremely close decisions^nvolving a 
difference in aggregate cost of thousands of dollars — are by 
no means a rare thing, the same watchful care being exer- 
cised day after day in the purchase of coffees for this most 
carefully guarded brand of coffee. 

ROASTING 

NEXT in importance to the blending of the coffee is 
the roasting process. Many persons believe that 
when they make coffee for their tables from the beans 
which have been roasted and ground, they are really 
"cooking" the coffee. As a matter of fact, all the "cooking" 
that the coffee receives has previously been done in the 
heated revolving cylinders, or "roasting drums," under the 
close personal supervision of a skilled roaster. 

This roasting, in the better class of importers' establish- 
ments, where quality is the first consideration, is an intri- 
cate and vital process, requiring not only a thorough 
knowledge of coffee, but years of training in the handling 
of equipment, the exact modulation of the heat, and the 
precise moment when just the turn of color has been 
reached. Careless and mechanical methods in roasting can- 
not produce good coffee. 

For this reason the roaster should not only be a coffee 
specialist, thoroughly versed in the types of coffee which 
go into his blend, but as much a full-fledged chef as any 
other master of the preparation of gastronomic delicacies. 

25 



He should have the "sixth sense," whereby the master 
baker knows exactly when his pastries are browned to a 
turn, for it is the roaster who really cooks the coffee, the 
preparation for the table merely extracting in solution the 
oils already released by heat in the revolving drums. The 
La Touraine roast is of just the right degree to bring out 
in this particular blend those rich flavors so pleasing to a 
lover of coffee. 



CLEANLINESS 

N addition to selecting the very best coffees and blend- 
ing and roasting them perfectly, we make sure that only 
clean coffees go into La Touraine. 

To this end the beans undergo scouring and win- 
nowing processes before and after being roasted. Our 
sanitary and well lighted plant is equipped with up-to- 
date machinery for these various processes, and from the 
green bean to the packed carton the coffee is never touched 
by the human hand. The moment it is taken from the bags, 
it starts by means of a system of elevators and traveling 
buckets, on a single continuous round of the plant, from 
process to process, until it is automatically weighed into 
packages for shipment. 

La Touraine, when it leaves our factory, is therefore 
guaranteed to be absolutelv net weight pure coffee, thor- 
oughly cleansed and free from any vestige of foreign 
material. 

To sum up the reasons why La Touraine is the best 
coffee for you to use: — 

26 



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